Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
downgrade en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈdaʊnˌɡɹeɪd/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From down- + grade.
Meanings
-
A reduction of a rating, as a financial or credit rating.
-
A downhill gradient on a road or railway.
[...] dynamic braking is fitted to the 99-ton, 55 ft.-long locomotives to help control these otherwise vacuum-braked trains on the long, continuous downgrades encountered on the coastal route.
1960 April, “English Electric diesels for the Sudan Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 218:
-
A reduction in quality; a descent towards an inferior state.
Near-synonyms: degradation, worsening, deterioration
Forms
Antonyms
upgrade
Coordinates
discount · comedown
Deriveds
downgrade dance
Synonyms
worsening · deterioration · degradation
Translations (6)
es desmejoramiento (Translations) · es degradación (Translations) · pl upadek (Translations) · pl degradacja (Translations) · es desmejora (Translations) · es empeoramiento (Translations)
downgrade en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˌdaʊnˈɡɹeɪd/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From down- + grade.
Meanings
-
To place lower in position.
The stock was downgraded from ‘buy’ to ‘sell’.
Basingstoke-Exeter will test this. From Salisbury westwards, it's largely single-track since British Rail downgraded it in 1967. There's a ten-mile loop between Templecombe and Yeovil, as well as shorter loops at Chard, Axminster and Honiton.
2025 February 5, Philip Haigh, “Where track and train integration will be put to the test”, in RAIL, number 1028, page 51:
-
To reduce in complexity, or remove unnecessary parts; to dumb down.
More significantly, rigid deference to [Justin] Bieber’s still-young core fan base keeps things resolutely PG, with any acknowledgement of sex either couched in vague “touch your body” workarounds or downgraded to desirous hand-holding and eye-gazing.
2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2020:
-
(transitive) To disparage.
Without downgrading my friends in the Building Trades, driving a nail or sawing a board is relatively simple.
1981, King Royer, Construction Manager in the 80's, page 278:We cannot afford to downgrade the lifestyles of other lesbians; we cannot afford to portray lesbians thinly as drunken and bothersome separatists who push their views on "work-within-the-movement" dykes".
1978 April 29, Cindy Rizzo, “Unity of Divergence”, in Gay Community News, page 4:
-
to reduce the official estimate of a storm's intensity.
-
To revert software back to an older version.
Forms
Antonyms
upgrade
Coordinates
destroy · discount · ruin
Deriveds
downgradable · downgrader
Synonyms
restore · revert · roll back · deconvert · degrade · humble · revert · sink · trim down to size · debase · disparage · reduce · put someone in their place · bring down to size · relegate · restore · embase · roll back · disgrace · defame · rehabilitate · give a bad name · downgrade · demote · degrade · knock down to size · dishonour · restitute · abase · demean · slur · reduce · discredit · depress · demote · defame · cut down to size · humiliate · whittle down to size · reconvert
Translations (16)
pl zdegradować (To place lower in position) · bg понижавам (To place lower in position) · de herabstufen (To place lower in position) · fr rétrograder (To place lower in position) · ru понижа́ть (To place lower in position) · es desmejorar (To place lower in position) · es retrogradar (To place lower in position) · ga íosghrádaigh (To place lower in position) · de herunterstufen (To place lower in position) · el υποβαθμίζω (To place lower in position) · pl degradować (To place lower in position) · sv nergradera (To place lower in position) · sv nedgradera (To place lower in position) · es empeorar (To place lower in position) · es degradar (To place lower in position) · ru пони́зить (To place lower in position)